"Absolutely not Americans"
Many Canadians will react with irritation if you show that you see little difference between them and the Americans. This is a sore point because Canada is a sovereign country and thinks it can do things much better than they are done in the US.
And yet Canada is very dependent on its big neighbor. In fact, Canada usually does what it is told.
There are minor differences between the two countries that are widely publicized.
And yes, indeed, Canada has "free healthcare" and not everyone is allowed to walk around with a gun. Furthermore, Canada has a part of the country where mainly French is spoken. Surely those Americans could learn something from that?
Secretly, Canadians actually do things just like Americans
There are so many similarities between Canadians and Americans that it is actually difficult for an outsider to distinguish between them.
Just take the dialect. If you hear a Canadian speaking (English), many would swear it was just an American, right?
Canadians prefer the American system of feet, pounds and ounces rather than the international metric system, although the latter was adopted in Canada 50 years ago but not in the US.
Canadians watch American TV, sports, politics and especially Wall Street as if that were the centre of the world.
Politically, Canada is also not really standing on its own two feet. The country is walking on a leash with the US.
Tax rules in Canada are being tailored to US needs. Legal forms are being adapted to US ones. The US government dictates to a large extent what Canadian politics will decide.
Canada's national defense is pretty much in the hands of the US. And maybe that's a good thing, because Canada is reluctant to invest heavily in defense.
If war equipment is purchased, the order will of course go to American companies.
All in all, Canada's sovereignty is a bit of a joke.
Still a little jealous?
Canadians believe that taxes in the US are lower than in Canada. You can also easily earn more there than in Canada, is the more or less general opinion. Freedom, happiness, they think.
This could explain why Canadians still easily identify as American. They are more or less part of it. Some would certainly cross over like that to really be allowed to belong.